DOOM Resurrects Paid Map DLC

Let’s get the good news out of the way first. A DOOM open beta is coming April 15th and will last through April 17th. The same content from the closed beta will be available to everyone during that weekend. Team Deathmatch and Warpath on Heatwave and Infernal. Don’t sleep on Warpath. It’s one of the best things about DOOM.

Ok, so what’s the bad news? Bethesda outlined their post-launch content plans. They are opting for the season pass route with paid maps. Really, Bethesda. Name one shooter outside of Call of Duty, Battlefield or Star Wars: Battlefront that still has a decent sized community six months after launch with paid map DLC. Titanfall? Tiny community. Evolve? Couldn’t even make it a few weeks.

How about games that have ditched paid map DLC for cosmetic microtransactions? Halo 5: Guardians? Still going strong. Rainbow Six: Siege? It’s no Call of Duty, but they have a passionate community that isn’t being fragmented.

Rainbow Six: Siege would be the perfect formula for DOOM to follow.

Let’s look at the first DLC pack for DOOM coming this summer.

– Three maps
– One new weapon
– One new playable demon
– One new armor set
– One new piece of equipment
– New Hack modules and taunts
– New customization colors and patterns.

The three maps need to be free. When Microsoft and 343 Industries admits paid DLC fragments the community, you need to listen. A Rainbow Six: Siege season pass formula would work. Make the maps free, and give season pass owners a head start on the new demons and weapons.

DOOM is already facing an uphill battle in the shooter genre. It isn’t the juggernaut it once was. By going the paid DLC route, Bethesda is instantly turning many away. The fix is easy. Just make map DLC free. The new armor and custom colors and patterns can be done with microtransactions.

DOOM Closed beta thoughts

I’m planning a larger post later this week, but I figured I would go ahead and touch on a few things from the closed beta. I was ready to love DOOM. The multiplayer is solid, and I had a blast – but there were issues.

Here’s what I liked.

Warpath

It’s King of the Hill, but with a constantly moving hill. Play it. You won’t regret it. It keeps the action fast and fluid.

Gameplay

This is make or break for any game. And, for the most part, DOOM does a decent job. The action isn’t quite as fast as I would like, but that’s one of the tradeoffs for developing DOOM on consoles. Controllers will never have the precision of PC and because of that the action needed to be slowed down a bit. There are several aspects of the gameplay that I’m not a fan of, though.

Here’s what I didn’t like.

Damage numbers

I thought a demon spawned in The Division for a second. I don’t have any idea why the developers decided to add damage numbers. Isn’t shooting shit until it falls over enough of a visual indicator?

Hack modules

None of them ever felt like they made much of a difference. It just feels like they are trying to modernize DOOM and needed something that resembles perks. I hope the developers consider taking them out. They don’t add anything, and it’s an unnecessary addition to DOOM.

What can I say that hasn’t been said already? It’s bad. That’s all that needs to be said.

Audio

Maybe it was just me, but the sound mixing felt off. Players would come right behind me and blast me with a shotgun, and I wouldn’t hear anything. Also, give us some of that awesome DOOM music during the matches.

The great thing about betas is developer can address these issues before the game releases. Most of my problems with DOOM can be easily fixed. I’ll have another post up on Friday diving deeper into the DOOM closed beta.

Did you play the closed beta? What did you think of the load outs? I’m still not sure how I feel about them, but I’m leaning against them. Also, let me know what you think of paid map DLC.